Apple Pie and Birthday Wishes
by SongSwifteye
Summary: Written in honor of Tezuka's birthday, October 7th. Just a short drabble about his birthday celebration. Could be implied TezuFuji.


Hello again!

I've posted on several of the other Anime sections, but this is the first Prince of Tennis fic I've ever completed. It's pretty mild, although there could be a little implied Tezu/Fuji (It's more than implied if you visit my LiveJournal, but still innocent). Oh, and if I remember, the "birthday card" should be posted on my LJ, too. It's at: http/ songswifteye.livejounal. com

In honor of Tezuka Kunimitsu's birthday, October 7, 2006. We love you, Tezuka-buchou!

Birthdays, Tezuka Kunimitsu thought, always used to be something he looked forward to. His parents, in their quiet manner, always knew exactly what he needed, whether it was a warm family meal, or a few hours of solitude with a cup of tea and a new book. The only thing that he could complain about was his mother's insistence that birthdays have to be celebrated with birthday cake. Not that he was too unhappy. His darkest (or, almost-darkest) secret was his terrible sweet tooth. Cakes were lovely, but his absolute favorite thing was apple pie. Unfortunately, of all the wonderful talents his mother possessed, pie-making didn't number among them. Still, his birthday was always a day he had cherished as one of the nicest days of the year...that is, until he reached middle school.

In a (usually rare) slip of the tongue, his dear friend, Oishi Shuichirou, mentioned his birthday to another student, the garrulous Kikumaru Eiji, during their first year at Seigaku. Since then, his birthdays had been almost painful. All of the tennis team regulars insisted on making a big deal out of it. He hated the fuss that the others created, but he tolerated it.

'_They only do it because they care_,' he reminded himself. But as several years passed, he came to dread birthdays as loud, uncomfortable, unproductive days. When he once again gained the position of tennis team captain in his final year of high school, one bittersweet thought that came to mind was that this was the last of those horrible birthday celebrations that he would have to sit through.

He headed off to morning practice, already bracing himself for the barrage of birthday well-wishers. The usual groups of squealing, giggling girls awaited his attention outside the courts, although luckily his upperclassman standing made them keep a respectful distance. He walked into the club room, setting his bag down and once again waiting to hear garrulous greetings from his teammates. Mornings, however, were generally quiet, with the regulars still trying to wake themselves up, and he sighed in relief as he made his way to the courts without being accosted.

Practice was quite productive, everyone seeming focused on their training. Tezuka allowed himself to hope, as he changed into his school uniform, that they had forgotten his birthday entirely. His hopes were washed away however, when he was approached by three of the freshman players. Katsuo, Kachiro and Horio, if he remembered correctly. Momoshiro called them the "Freshman Trio," because of their apparent inability to move about independently. Bowing deeply, they addressed him.

"Tezuka-buchou," Kachiro said, "We wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

Tezuka was startled. That was…unusually quiet and respectful. He was pleased. He bowed back.

"Thank you Kachiro, and you, Katsuo and Horio."

All three stepped back, eyes wide. As he nodded and walked past, he could hear their voices rising excitedly.

"Tezuka-buchou knows us! He knows all our names!"

Tezuka allowed his lips to curve minutely before straightening out his expression and walking into the school.

His day, also, was fairly normal and productive. Although he was met with the occasional ecstatic fan (those were unavoidable, even on normal days), the extent of his birthday reminders were the simple smiles of friends, accompanied by the usual, "Happy Birthday, Tezuka-kun." Even Kawamura Takashi, although he no longer played on the tennis team, made sure to pause in the hallway to wish him well. He was still dreading afternoon practice, though.

The club room was fairly empty when he entered that afternoon. He changed quickly before heading out to the courts. Practice was even more efficient than this morning. The team was unusually focused, each working to play their best. Even Momoshiro and Kaidoh were careful, going out of their way not to start fights. Tezuka was extremely pleased with his regulars. He let them go at the end of practice and headed in to clean up.

Showered and changed, Tezuka found that he wasn't alone in the club room. The rest of his regulars had loitered, waiting for him. '_Here it comes_,' he thought dismally. '_I knew that this day was too good to last_.'

Running his gaze along the lineup of his regulars, he couldn't help but be a little proud. They'd grown so much, developed amazingly since their early days at Seigaku. And here was the whole team, except for Taka-san, still together and still growing. As he mused, his face must have shown some of his thoughts, because the smiles he was receiving from Eiji and Momo were growing by the moment, and Oishi was looking at him with distant eyes, his gentle smile showing that he knew exactly how Tezuka felt.

One of the regulars stepped forward. His eternal smile curving his lips, Fuji Syusuke approached, his hands empty except for a plain envelope with the name "Tezuka Kunimitsu" written on the back. Handing it to Tezuka, he stepped back and let his smile grow just a little more.

"Hopefully you didn't think that we'd forgotten your birthday, Tezuka-buchou," he said, gesturing at the others lined up behind him. "We simply thought that you'd prefer to avoid all the fuss this year."

"Happy birthday, Tezuka-buchou," they chorused, bowing their heads in respect. Tezuka simply looked at them, then down at the unobtrusive envelope in his hands. Opening it, he felt the tension that had been in his shoulders all day melt away. The card was simple, a wish for happiness on his birthday, with messages from each one of his teammates. There was even a brief written argument between Momo and Kaidoh that Fuji and Inui hadn't been quick enough to catch. Looking back up, he saw his team (yes, his!) watching him. Folding the card, he bowed back to them.

"Thank you, everyone. Your thoughtfulness is…touching."

He let his expression relax, just this once, and his lips curved into a slight smile. The gapes of his teammates were enough to make him smile even wider, just for a moment, before he schooled his features, and turned back to gather his things. The others filed out behind him, Momo's exclamations of, "He smiled, Echizen, did you see that!" and Ryoma's bored, "Mada mada dane, Momo-sempai," in response. When he turned again, only Fuji remained, standing right behind him and smiling gently. An answering smile appeared, as the other boy reached out and briefly squeezed his hand.

"Well, did you have a happy birthday, Tezuka?" he asked as they made their way down the sidewalk outside the school.

"Yes I did, actually," Tezuka responded, looking sideways at his friend. Fuji's smile seemed even more content than usual. That contented look, mixed with the absence of any scheming smirk, usually meant that all was right with the world, and Tezuka sighed lightly. The sound made Fuji turn to him.

"Oh, Tezuka, I almost forgot. I have something for you, but I've left it at home. Could I trouble you to make a slight detour on your way home?"

Tezuka looked at his watch. He could make it to Fuji's and back home well in time for dinner with his family. Nodding, he followed as Fuji turned down the next side street. Soon, they stood outside the Fuji residence.

"You can come in, I'm sure that Okaa-san and Yuuta would love to see you, although I warn you, Yumiko might try to convince you to let her read your fortune," Fuji joked, taking off his shoes in the entryway.

"Tadaima!" he called, moving into the main hallway and motioning for Tezuka to follow him. Walking in to the dining room behind Fuji, Tezuka stopped.

"Happy birthday, Kunimitsu," his mother said, walking up and kissing his cheek as his father reached to fondly squeeze his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Tezuka asked, confused.

His parents laughed, along with the Fuji family.

"Fuji-san called us and invited us over for dinner to celebrate your birthday, Kunimitsu. It's not everyday what you turn eighteen, after all," his mother said, smiling at him. Her smile faded a little and she asked, "You are alright with this?"

He looked at the Fuji family, and at his friend standing just behind his parents, and he let his smile show again.

"It's perfect," he said truthfully, and the whole group smiled.

Dinner was wonderful. Fuji Yoshiko was an amazing cook, and had passed her talents down to her children. They had really outdone themselves. However, the high point of Tezuka's night was when Fuji-san came out with a beautiful, gently steaming apple pie in her hands.

"Syusuke insisted on making this himself, Tezuka-kun. He said that it was your favorite."

Tezuka glanced sideways at Fuji, whose cheeks held the slightest color. He looked at his friend's mother.

"Thank you, Fuji-san, he was right. I'm afraid I have a terrible weakness for apple pie."

His hand, under the table cloth, found Fuji's and squeezed gently.

His parents left not long after dinner, but Tezuka stayed for a while longer. Together, they sat on the deck behind the house, staring at the few stars they could see and enjoying what would probably be the last warm evening of the year.

Fuji glanced at Tezuka.

"I hope that you don't mind our stealing you like that, Tezuka. I just…wanted to do something special for you this year."

Tezuka caught the other boy's hand, and his attention.

"Thank you, Syusuke. It was more than I could have hoped for."

Fuji opened his eyes, their unearthly blue glowing in the moonlight.

"You're welcome, Kunimitsu."


End file.
